The Golden Age of Scientific Illustration

During the 19th century, John James Audubon and John Gould brought to world attention the splendour of the planet's avian diversity. In an era infatuated with natural history, these gloriously modelled and coloured images satisfied the demands of passionate naturalists.

Both artists used print-making media for their ability to create multiple original impressions. Gould's etchings demonstrated precision and delicacy of line, while aquatint etching — the technique used by Audubon — gave shading and atmospheric effects, like watercolour or drawing. Applying colour remained the most time-consuming part of these processes, with images painstakingly hand-coloured either on the plate or on the print.

For both Audubon and Gould, the birds of the new world provided the most spectacular subjects for their art. They have become inextricably linked with these two great practitioners of scientific artwork.

Illustrations

John James Audubon (1785–1851)

John James Audubon worked along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, catching birds in the morning to paint before last light. He has depicted the osprey in the moment of victory, its prey secure in its piercing talons.

The fish hawk radiates a fierce vitality, but it was dead. Audubon was both a hunter and a naturalist; he shot his subjects and strung them up in animated positions to be painted, using an ingenious system of wires. Many people at that time believed that nature’s resources were limitless and that it was humanity’s right to exploit their abundance for financial, artistic or scientific gain.

This image was published life-size in Audubon’s magisterial Thebirds of America, where the scale and the subtle tones of aquatint etching emphasised both the perils and vigour of nature.

John Gould (1804–81)

John Gould started his career as a naturalist in the field of taxidermy, establishing his reputation with the mount of King George IV’s pet giraffe.

Gould was not a gifted draftsman, but he was a determined entrepreneur. He engaged a succession of superb illustrators to create 3000 sumptuous images of birds from Australasia, Europe, Asia and the Americas.

John Gould first described this large flightless bird in 1857, naming it after the Australian naturalist George Bennett. Gould referred to the cassowary by its New Guinean name, Mooruk, and regarded its description as ‘one of the most important additions to ornithology that I have ever had the good fortune to bring before the notice of the scientific world.’

John James Audubon (1785–1851)

John James Audubon was a genius with a flair for self-promotion and a plan to paint, print and publish life-sized illustrations of all the bird species of North America.

Garbed in the cape of an American woodsman, Audubon sailed to Liverpool to find sponsors and oversee the production of his ambitious project. Thebirds of America, featuring 435 hand-coloured etchings on oversized ‘double elephant’ parchment, is the most extravagant and inspiring bird book ever produced.

Audubon worked at a time when America’s natural history was becoming increasingly entwined with national identity and myth-making. His work combined art, science and national pride, all presented in a gripping narrative. This life-size composition of hawks battling in mid-air cleverly depicts two views of the subject while celebrating the drama and beauty of the American wilderness.

Questions for the classroom

Humanities InquiryWhy did interest in the natural world increase during the 19th century?

Look at the time line of this period and see if you can find three significant changes in science and technology that may have contributed.

Science InquiryHow did Audobon and Gould communicate their observations of nature?

Did they make realistic observations?

Art InquiryResearch Audubon or Gould and explain in your own words the significance of their work and ideas.